FORTY COUPLES RECEIVE THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE

(December 19, 2009). This morning 40 pairs of amancebados (those living-in together without the benefit of the sacrament of marriage) received the sacrament of marriage at the parish church. Most of those married are members of the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) in their respective chapels. They were very much thankful that they have become members of the BEC as they were assisted in receiving the sacrament. In the parish the wedding of amancebados is done three times a year: during lent, during the Ordinarytime (August to October) and during Advent. if there are more than five couples coming from a chapel, usually the parish allows that the wedding be celebrated in their chapel. This year out of 165 couples who received the sacrament of marriage, 105 of these were wedding of amancebados.

For pictures of wedding of amancebados in Brgy Donghol last Oct 3, 2009 one can go to this page below:

http://sppormoc.multiply.com/photos/album/62/WEDDING_OF_AMANCEBADOS_IN_DONGHOL_OCT._3_2009

MISA DE GALLO MASSES START TODAY

              Dec. 16, 2009. An estimated three thousand people flocked to the Sts. Peter and Paul Church this morning for the first day of the Misa de Gallo masses. Not only was every space inside the church filled with church goers but including also the open spaces outside the church. A projector  was installed outside the church so that those who could not get inside the church could also see what was happening inside.  Celebrant of the mass was the parish priest, Msgr. Bernardo Pantin. The main theme being developed in the homilies for this year’s  Misa de Gallo is: The Incarnation of the Lord: Principle and Pattern of Transformation.”   Each day a sub theme is being meditated based on the word Christmas.

Dec. 16    C      COMMITMENT TO MISSION, PEACE and 
                             HEALING

Dec 17     H      HOPE IN GOD’S PROVIDENCE

Dec 18     R      RENEWED FAITH

Dec 19     I       INTEGRITY OF LIFE   

Dec 20     S       SERVICE OF GOD AND NEIGHBOR

Dec 21     T      TRUST IN GOD’S LOVE AND 
                         FAITHFULNESSS

Dec 22    M      MARY AS MODEL IN WORD AND DEED

Dec 23     A      APOSTOLIC DYNAMISM

Dec 24     S       SHARED (social) VALUES AND 
                          CONCERNS

Dec 24, Vigil Mass      JESUS, THE INCARNATION OF GOD’S PROMISES   

Mass at Midnight      JESUS, LIGHT OF THE WORLD

            Aside from from the 4 a.m. mass in the main church, five other chapels within the parish have their own simbang gabi which started last night: Bantigue, Camp Downes, Malbasag, Alta Vista and Nadongholan.  This year the priests in the parish are also helping saying the misa de gallo in other chapels outside the parish like in Macabug of the Ipil, Ormoc Parish, alternately Naungan or Tambulilid chapels from the Linao parish, the Monastery of the Clarisas Capuchinas and the Hermitage in Natubgan, Kananga. 

The design and execution of the Belen this year is through the efforts of the Knights of Columbus and the Daughters of Mary Immaculate.

MOTHER BUTLER MISSION GUILDS TENDER CHRISTMAS PARTY FOR PRIESTS AND BENEFACTORS

                 The members of the Mother Butler Mission Guilds in the parishes of Ormoc had their annual Christmas gathering in honor for the priests and their benefactors at the Don Felipe Hotel last Monday, Dec. 14, 2009. The MBMG usually would invite all priests serving in the parishes of Ormoc, all who have been assigned here in the parishes and those whom they have helped in their studies to the priesthood. This year’s party was attended by thirty priests. Mass was first celebrated by Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, the parish priest of Sts. Peter and Paul and Vicar General concelebrated by all the priests present. Dinner then followed with song and dance numbers coming from the members of the MBMG. During the program the new officers and new members from the Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Unit were also inducted. Guest speaker for this year was Dr. Mario Rodriguez who has been a constant benefactor of the guild. Gifts consisting of altar items and other church paraphernalia were raffled off to all the priests present. Providing music and entertainment that night was the Men in Stripes, the singing group headed by Msgr. Maning Damayo.
                At present there are four units of MBMG found in four parishes here in the Vicariate of Ormoc: Sts. Peter and Paul, Mother of the Redeemer, San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila  and the newest being the St. Mark the Evangelist in Linao Parish.  The main apostolate of the Mother Butler Mission Guilds is to serve the church by supplying liturgical vestments and paraphernalia especially in poor parishes and to help foster vocations.  The Mother Butlers here in Ormoc not only prays for vocations but they also financially help many seminarians in the seminary.  There have already been a good number of priests not only from Ormoc but in other places as well, who have been helped in their studies by the MBMG

PARISH RECORDS

All the parochial records of Sts. Peter and Paul Parish have already been computerized. The computerization project started in April 2009. The encoding of all the records took six months to finish with eight encoders doing the job. Now it has become easy and fast to ask for records of Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage and Death. Unfortunately, although the parish was erected in 1630, the earliest record dates back to 1945 only. The main reason for this was that the parish rectory and with it the parochial records were completely destroyed during the second world war in 1944. Hence for Baptism the first recorded data begins with those baptized in January 15, 1947. For Confirmation the records start with October 21, 1947. Marriage data start from May 26, 1945 and Death Register starts on January 15, 1947.

The parish archives

Sometimes however, data cannot right away be found in the parish registers. There are a number of reasons for these. First it could be that the names are different from what have been entered in the registers. Especially with cases of baptism it was a practice before that only the godparents would bring the child for baptism. The result would be that different names or spelling of names and other pertinent data would be given to the parish secretary. There are also a number of cases where the data were not entered at all at the parish registers. Such cases happen when the sacraments, like baptism, were done in the barrio chapels and due to negligence were not transmitted to the parish secretaries for recording. There are also other times when the sacrament was celebrated in a different parish and so therefore the data being asked could not be found in spite of diligent search from the records.